Injuries will force Ireland to test their squad depth

Ireland's Bank of Ireland Autumn Nations games against South Africa, Fiji and Australia will force head coach Andy Farrell to explore his squad's depth, according to Bernard Jackman.

Farrell named a 37-man squad for next month's Test window yesterday, with six uncapped players included, owing to injuries for Iain Henderson, Andrew Conway, James Lowe and Keith Earls, as well as suspension for Bundee Aki.

Of the six uncapped players, Munster's Calvin Nash is the only who will be having his first experience of the squad, with Joe McCarthy, Jimmy O'Brien, Cian Prendergast, Jeremy Loughman and Ciarán Frawley all having been on tour with Ireland last summer in New Zealand.

Twenty-five-year-old Nash has started the season well, impressing on the Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa, while also looking sharp on his return for Munster last week, before suffering an ankle injury against the Bulls.

Injuries have often hit Nash at just the wrong time in the early stages of his career, limiting him to just 39 games for the province, but Jackman says the Limerick man could make huge strides in a short period of time with his international exposure.

"He's been really unlucky," Jackman told the RTÉ Rugby podcast.

"I was really impressed with him in the time he had the other night, although every time I see him I’m impressed with him. I was worried the ankle injury would have been enough to keep him out for November, so it’s great that the medical reports are telling Andy Farrell he’ll be back.

"You get players sometimes who, for a couple of seasons, struggle to get momentum, and if they get one break in an international squad, they show what they can do.

"The credit they build carries on and they get picked in squads again, but for a younger